


Brownies and Coffee

by wereworm



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Gen, Minimal editing, POV Outsider, a lil baby fic, but i will die on that hill, he doesn't fully text like one cause clarity in reading but in my heart...., i couldnt fit it in the fic but shes tall, jon is a millenial and texts like one, oh yeah georgie is tall, was originally gonna be a shitpost but it worked better as a fic i think, why? because tall girls are very hot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:48:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23289535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wereworm/pseuds/wereworm
Summary: A routine coffee date with a university friend ends up being so much more when a simple question reveals that Georgie has reconnected with her ex-boyfriend and what exactly that entails.
Relationships: Georgie Barker & Jonathan Sims
Comments: 24
Kudos: 214





	Brownies and Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> im sorry. im working on my other fic i swear. im like ~12k in. should be out soon?

_Shit, she’s running late._ Sarah enters the café briskly to get out of the cold London air but pauses just inside the doorway when she enters, scanning the busy store. She sees her in the far back corner, tucked into a little booth. Crossing the room with an efficiency borne of countless visits, she weaves in and out between tables until she reaches the table where her friend sits. She slides into the seat opposite her and unravels her scarf from her neck as she quickly apologises.

“I’m so sorry, Georgie, I lost track of time and I had to book it get here.”

She awkwardly pulls her coat off and places it on the seat next to her before turning to look at Georgie. She’s looking alright, she supposes. Heavy bags rest beneath her dark eyes, but her hair is brushed and neatly held back with a golden bandana that contrasts with the deep black of her hair, which curls neatly just above her shoulders. She’s wearing a pale blue shirt that matches with her fingernails, a detail Sarah notices when Georgie reaches over the table to pat Sarah’s hand.

“It’s all good,” She says, “I only just got here myself.”

Judging by the half-finished cup of coffee on the table, this is evidently not true but she’s not going to be the one to point it out when Georgie has so neatly given her a way out. Instead, Sarah smiles back at her and quickly orders a latte with two sugars when the waiter comes around to take her order.

“A brownie, too, please,” She adds, and Georgie opens her mouth as if to protest but Sarah waves a hand in her direction, cutting off whatever she was going to say.

They both arrive a minute or two later, and she quickly slides the brownie over to Georgie’s side of the table; they’re much too sweet for her liking but Georgie has always loved them. Instead of saying anything about paying her back, Georgie just thanks her. She’ll probably buy Sarah a lemon tart or something next time to make up for it and then the cycle will begin anew with another brownie.

“So,” Sarah drawls, after taking a sip of her coffee, “How have you been lately?”

“Good, good,” Georgie says, “And you?”

“I did end up getting that promotion which is great, and I’ve been on a couple of dates with a guy.”

Georgie waggles her eyebrows at her and Sarah laughs.

“No,” She chuckles, “We’re taking it slow.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound like you at all,” Her tone is light and teasing and Sarah blushes.

“And what about you? Found another scrawny sad man to take your heart?”

Georgie bursts out laughing, “One man, _one_. Besides, my last date was with a mountain climber.”

“Oh? And did he climb you like a mountain?”

Georgie’s face scrunches up and she makes an exaggerated gagging noise.

“Sorry, sorry,” Sarah says, not sorry at all, “I’ve gotta work with what I’ve got.”

Georgie smiles at her, but then her eyes drop down, her smile fading, and she takes a sip of the coffee. She continues to hold the mug in her hands even when she doesn’t seem like she’s going to continue drinking. Just as Sarah is about to ask if her date went that badly, she puts the mug down and Georgie speaks.

“I’ve reconnected with Jon.”

Sarah automatically straightens up. Jon’s name is not one that is forbidden from conversation, but he doesn’t come up often. Years had passed and, while they can joke about it now, at the time the end of Jon and Georgie’s relationship had been messy and had very nearly destroyed their friendship group. Nasty things had been said on both sides and despite staying neutral in the matter, Sarah’s only managed to keep in contact with Georgie. Jon had somehow decided the whole breakup was his fault and had promptly disappeared after things had settled down. She misses him sometimes, but by now, he’s faded into her distant memory much like her high school friends had when she first went to university.

“Did you now?” Sarah finally manage to get out.

“Yeah,” Georgie’s voice is almost weak.

“How’d you manage that?”

“He, uh,” Georgie pauses, as if trying to put the words together, “Showed up randomly at my front door. Asked if he could stay at my place for a bit.”

Concerns wells up inside Sarah, “What happened?”

“He was on the run from the law. Apparently, he’d been accused of murder.”

Sarah gapes, dropping the spoon which she’d picked up to stir her coffee.

“I mean, _obviously_ he was innocent,” Georgie says, as if she hadn’t just admitted to hiding a wanted criminal in her flat.

“Obviously,” Sarah repeats.

Georgie’s eyes flick to hers, something almost angry in them as she asks, “What? You actually think he could have murdered someone?”

Sarah pauses and remembers. She thinks of the way Jon had started crying when, for the first time, The Admiral had come to sit in his lap instead of Georgie’s. Of the way he’d smile at Georgie like he’d never seen anyone so beautiful before. Of the way he’d stepped in between Alex and her boyfriend when he’d started yelling, of the coldness in Jon’s voice as he’d told him to leave. Of the way he’d bring Sarah study snacks when she was stressing over exams. Of the way he’d sang so clearly and merrily that time they’d gone to karaoke together. Of the bright, small smile on his face whenever someone said something nice to him. Of the way he’d cared so very much about all the people around him. Of the gentleness of his hands and the softness in his voice.

“No. No, I don’t think he could have.”

Georgie nods, accepting what she’s said, and continues, “I was more than willing to let him stay. I thought it would be a good chance to fix things but … he looked awful, Sarah.”

Georgie’s voice sounds wet as she says this, her tone pained and her hands clench tightly. Sarah reaches across the table, clasping her hands around Georgie’s fists, running a thumb soothingly back and forward until her hands start to loosen, pretty nails no longer digging into skin.

She heaves a breath, “He was covered in scars and he was so scared. The woman who had the job before him had been murdered and it had been covered up and strange things kept happening and he kept getting hurt. He found someone who knew who may have killed his predecessor, but he went out for a smoke and when he came back, he’d been bludgeoned to death.”

Georgie looks to her now, and Sarah struggles to put together a coherent thought and eventually comments, “So he’s picked up smoking again?”

Georgie lets out a disbelieving giggle, “Yeah.”

Sarah breathes in a shaky breath, “Well, you’ve been doing a good thing, taking him in as you have.”

“I feel like I should be able to help more. Like I could do more to keep him safe.”

“It’s not your responsibility to look after him, Georgie. You can’t protect him from everything.”

Georgie stays silent.

“Georgie?”

“He started getting messages from the real killer and he was reading them and I told him not to but he kept doing it,” Her voice gets more and more distressed with each word, “I got so mad at him.”

“Did he stop?”

Georgie shrugs, “I dunno. We argued about it and he left,” She pauses, and then adds on, almost as an afterthought, “Then he got kidnapped.”

“Kidnapped?”

Sarah’s must have said it far too loudly for a few people around their table turn to look at them cautiously. Sarah fights the urge to slide down in her seat, but Georgie seems impervious to the attention.

“Yeah, by a cult, I think?”

She shuffles about, reaching into her purse and pulling out her phone. She quickly taps the screen a few times before breathing in theatrically and putting on an excessively posh voice as she says, “ _‘Sorry I didn’t come back. Got kidnapped by a circus cult. Leader wanted to flense me and wear my skin. Yikes. Was there for a month but she only moisturised me. Skin v. good rn. Lol. Got rescued by a real estate agent who doesn’t want to kill me maybe? Hows the admiral? Going back to work now. Ttyl if you’re not too mad’_.”

“What the fuck?” Sarah says emphatically.

Georgie’s mouth is twisted into a frown as she nods along, commiserating.

It strikes Sarah then, how much Georgie has had to go through in these past few weeks. There’s no way she’s alright. There’s no way Jon’s alright either and Sarah considers asking Georgie for his phone number, just to check in with him but thinks the better of it. When Georgie and Jon had been dating it had sometimes felt like they were in their own separate world and now, it feels like they’re sharing a new world that Sarah is not privy to. She’s not sure she wants to be.

“Oh yeah,” Georgie adds, “Turns out it was his boss who killed the guy so he’s allowed back at work now.”

Sarah just gapes. Yeah, she _really_ doesn’t want to get involved in that. No matter how glad she is that they’ve gotten back in contact, Jon and Georgie can keep their weird little bubble to themselves and Sarah will just be there for the occasional coffee and brownie.

“Anyway,” Georgie says, “Your guy, what’s his name? Is he cute?” 

**Author's Note:**

> yo waddup. hmu at neverdoingmuch on tumblr if you wanna. if you dont thats all chill.


End file.
